Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I have a Craftsman garden tractor with a 54 inch mower deck - model 917.28749. The engine runs fine, but it stalls whenever I engage the drive (all speeds) or engage the mower. If I release the brake quickly I can get it to lurch forward a foot or two, but it still stalls. What should I look for?

does it bog down when its about to stall? or just cut out and stall quickly?... im thinking maybe a safety switch not working possibly... first thing id do is check see if ur losing spark when it dies.. u will need a inline spark tester for that.. if it is stalling quickly with no bogging then check all safety switchs..

niper99, thanks. I'll check the safety switches if I can find them. When I disengage the brake or engage the mower blades, the stalling behavior is essentially the same as if I turned the ignition switch to off - rpm's go down and the engine dies in 2-3 seconds. It runs fine with the brake engaged and the mower blades disengaged.

how u make out?